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Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany is the period when Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party controlled Germany. It is also sometimes called the Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich), which means the 'Third Empire' or 'Third Realm'. The first German empire was the Holy Roman Empire. The second was the Second German Empire of 1871 - 1918. The Nazis said they were making the third. However, the term 'Third Reich' was more popular in other countries. In Germany it was merely The Reich (pronounced 'rike') or the Greater German Reich (German: Großdeutsches Reich). Adolf Hitler led Nazi Germany until it was defeated in World War Two in the Battle of Berlin, when he killed himself in 1945. The Nazi Party was destroyed in the same year as its leaders ran away, were arrested, or killed themselves. Some were executed for war crimes by the Western and Soviet powers. Others survived, with some of them getting important jobs. However, their racial policies never again held power in Germany. The Nazi government was formed under the idea that some races were better than others. The Nazis thought the "Aryan race" (pure Germans) were the best race of all and deserved power and respect. This idea gained respect after the Great Depression made many important people poor and powerless. Hitler blamed the problems on Jewish capitalists and communist gangs. He was able to make Germans feel like they were innocent victims who had to take charge over Europe. When the Nazi regime was destroyed at the end of World War II, Germany was split into four "occupation zones". The Soviet Union took East Germany. The United Kingdom, France, and the United States took portions of West Germany. History The Nazis came to power in 1933 and made their power absolute with an "Enabling Law" and a referendum. They centralized Germany, replacing local self-government. They immediately banned Jews from important jobs, and soon restricted them in other ways. After a few years they built the armed forces far beyond the limits of the Treaty of Versailles. World War II On September 1st, 1939, German forces attacked Poland, which began World War II. With over a million troops, Hitler's army easily took over Poland, losing about 59,000 soldiers. their country was also attacked by the Soviet Union from the east. Poland lost over 900,000 soldiers. On October 12, 1939, Hitler sent a letter to the United Kingdom promising peace. The British continued the war. Hitler conquered France in the Battle of France. Then he sent the Luftwaffe to attack England. Winston Churchill, now Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, did not surrender. The Battle of Britain lasted from July to October 1940. When it failed, Hitler ordered the mass bombardment of London. That also failed, and Hitler decided to face east for his racial war of destroying the Slavs and Jews. This gave Britain time to regain power. In 1941, Hitler ordered "Operation Barbarossa." It lasted from June 22, 1941 until December 5, 1941. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, had weakened his army with his Great Purges, which had killed many Russian officers before the war. During Operation Barbarossa, many more Soviet soldiers died than Germans. At Stalingrad, however, about a million soldiers died on each side. While the Soviet Union could replace its losses, Germany could not. After Stalingrad, the Germans lost their momentum. The Soviets learned from the long campaigns, fought better, and gained many new weapons from very efficient factories. The United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union fought together, and pushed against the smaller German army. In May 1945, they took over Berlin to win the war. Many people from all sides of the war died fighting in Europe, including: * Around one million German soldiers. * About one million French, British, and American soldiers. While fighting in the Soviet Union: * About 5 million German soldiers, and soldiers from other fascist countries died. * About 7 million Soviet soldiers died fighting against them. * About 2 million Soviet soldiers died in Nazi concentration camps and prisoner of war camps from starvation, disease, freezing to death, and executions. * About 10 million to 15 million Soviet civilians died from famine, executions, and the Holocaust. After the Allies took over Germany, the Soviets set up the German Democratic Republic. It was a socialist state that followed communism. The United Kingdom, the United States, and France set up the Federal Republic of Germany in the west. It was a democratic country.